FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

The graveyard weather continued also on Monday, and it still rained. I wonder from where all this water comes ! When I was a child I was told that when it rains the angels are crying. If this is true then they all must have a depression or they are peeling onions ! No excuse for me I had to do my shopping ! 

As it happens now very often, I fell asleep  while I was watching my little crime story then I wrote my post and ordered a "Gym Leg Action" on Internet for my neighbor. She had tried it with me and was thrilled. Every morning for 10 min I put my feet on the machine and let my legs shake. That's really good when you sit a lot. The next day I thought I had walked 10 km ! Now I use it slowly slowly each day a little more but I feel that it does real good, even til the end of your back.

The next morning Nicole called and asked me if I could drive her home from the retirement home where she stays during the holidays of her daughter. She wanted to see Isis her cat and stay a while with her.

Isis was very happy to see her servant and meowed like a chatterbox. It was a bit cold as the apartment was "on holiday"  temperature, so we kept our coats and had a coffee together and played a bit with Isis who rolled around on the floor. Today Nicole returns home and Isis will have company again. During Nicole's absence it was her grandson who took well care of her. 

When I visited Rick again to my surprise he was sitting on his bed. Apparently he is much better, had walked a bit around with the help of two nurses and will be able to join the others to the restaurant and have lunch and supper with them. He has to stay in a wheelchair, because he is so weak, but I was really happy for him that he could go out of his isolation ! It had lasted long enough ! I stayed a bit until he had eaten the cubes of ananas and then wanted to lay down, he was tired.  Hopefully it continues this way because with the Parkinson disease it's like a roller coaster. 

To replace the absent sun I had installed my light therapy lamp, because we all have a lack of Vitamin D and this lamp is supposed to produce it. It's very much used in Northern countries where they have only 3 h of daylight !

I think it helps in dark days. In the afternoon I had a coffee with Adeline, who had tried out her new machine and felt her legs !

Today we have the first snow of the year, which means 3 snowflakes per square meter ! 

By the time I had decided to look after a winter coat, the snowing had stopped and it rained for a change. Of course I didn't find the coat I was looking for, or it was too big or too small,  the color wasn't right, or it was far too expensive. It was not my day for personal shopping. 

I also needed a little basket and a box to put the different batteries I need for all kind of stuff and also saw a round piece of white (fake) fur for Miss Rosie's black basket.

Now it's difficult to see where the cat starts and the fur ends. But Rosie loves it, it's comfy and warm.

I will start a bit of Christmas decoration, it's all in the basement but I will ask my son to carry it up !I have to make a list of all heavy and difficult things to be repaired or carried from one room to the other, for once I have a strong man in the house. Maybe Toby comes too to see his Nonno, it all depends how Nonno looks and how he feels !

And again another Corona Virus week went by, one step more towards the history book of the next century !

We certainly will be named "The Corona Virus Generation" !

 

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

HODGEPODGE DECEMBER 1

1. When it comes to gift giving are you more of a 'create something from scratch' or a 'buy something in a shop' kind of giver? Tell about a favorite homemade gift you've given or one you've received. 

First I ask what the person wants and I don't buy anything without asking before. I used to offer little fashion jewelery to my DIL and wondered why I never saw them on her until one day she told me that she doesn't like jewelery at all, that she would prefer a book ! So it is very important to know what your family members wants ! Self made gifts that wouldn't even come into my mind, except maybe a painting from me. I can't remember that I ever received a homemade gift since I am adult, when I was a child I got self knitted pullovers which scratched terribly !

2. Do you have the 'gift of gab'? Is that a blessing or a curse? 

That depends I have no problems to talk to all people and once a  man told me that I had certainly been a party girl which in some way is true. Usually when I enter somewhere I am always noticed even if I don't want to be noticed. It started already at high school. Before I was a rather calm and shy child always with my nose in a book.

3. What's something you have going on that you need/want to 'wrap up' this month? 

Nothing, this year Christmas celebration is very unsure. Rick doesn't get better, he almost sleeps all the time. I doubt very much to be able to take him home at Christmas. I haven't even thought about gifts or asked what they want. My grandson safes money for a computer game and wants an envelope. I try to forget the times when there were countless colorful parcels under the tree. 

4. A food you love that is 'wrapped' in some way? 

I like above all the "Wraps" which you can buy almost everywhere !  

or eat in a restaurant. Each time I travel I buy two for lunch in the train or airplane.

 

5. December is upon us...share something here (quote, verse, poem, song lyric, your own thoughts) related to the word hope. 

 

I like this one

 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I wonder how long this Virus life will last. Christmas is approaching I rather avoid to think !

 

 Fortunately I have her ! 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

The sergeant and his soldiers

more participants here, and Image-in-ing

THE GARDA LAKE - ITALY

The Lago di Garda or Lake of Garda is the biggest lake in Italy it is 158 km long and 52 km wide. It is a beautiful lake, the North with high mountains part of the Italian Alpes while the south is flat. My husband Rick was born in Rovereto and spent his childhood and youth there,  The lake is only 15 km far and we always stayed in Torbole when we visited the family.

I just take you along and show you pictures of this beautiful lake without a particular order.

more participants here

AWWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND DECEMBER 27......

 My cat Arthur who shared my life during 19 years

 

 

Linking to AWWWW MONDAY

 

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WEEKEND

This must be the last weekend of November and hasn't been better then all the others before ! Cold, grey, humid, with maybe two exceptions.

Lots of retirement homes are closed due to the new virus variant which South Africa has kindly send us over with a lady coming from Egypt ! I start to be jealous, the virus travels all over the world without any restrictions and I am not allowed !

I found Rick in his bed as usual, he still can't get up, but he has good appetite ! He ate two packets of fresh ananas cubes (2 x 250g) three Brownies and a Banana ! That was a good sign, that he asks for fruits and cookies. 

That took me the whole afternoon, anyway there were so many people underway that I didn't want to go into a shop ! And I start to believe that cars get babies, because there are more and more and the center is completely congested ! Fortunately I know all little streets to avoid the main streets. 

I don't know if I am old fashioned but the speaker at the Television is always uncombed ! I mean even if he has curly hair he should choose another hairdo ! It would have been impossible even only 10 years ago that a Television speaker as kind and friendly as he may be, would appear in front of the camera unshaved and uncombed. That's called "cool" probably. 

On Sunday morning when I wanted to put on my slippers I saw that it was already occupied ! Cat Rosie had put her toy mouse as a morning gift in my slippers ! Isn't she a caring cat ?

In the afternoon we had our first neighbor meeting in my appartment. We were three, one living on the third floor and Adeline and I on the forth. She immediately adapted herself to the two of us and we had a very nice afternoon talking about our travels we all had travelled quite a lot, our husbands, Louquette (the new one) had lost her husband 4 years ago he also had Parkinson. We also had a discussion about religion and to my surprise I learned that Joe Biden is the second catholic president of the States ! 

Here as everybody is anyway catholic, this had never been a question. 

We promised to help each other and I was  already hired as driver. Except Adeline who is 84 Louquette and I have the same age. Adeline never learned driving and Louquette only drives in short distances.

and here we are I even had light a fire in the TV ! Makes the room warmer, must be psychological.

Due to the still present Corona Virus, my other friends have left our little Scrabble group, Nicole is getting more  and more sick, and Chantal went to Egypt, unvaccinated ! She does keep to her wish even if she can't go out at all, everywhere the Covid Safty ticket, as it is called here is requested

After this nice afternoon Rosie and I watched some funny cat videos before we both went to bed !